Tourist's shark tale makes headlines

Marissa Calligeros

"My instincts took over and I just grabbed the shark by the tail," says Paul Marshallsea. Photo: Nine Network Video Footage

A Welsh holidaymaker has made international headlines after dragging a two-metre shark from shallow waters where young children and toddlers were swimming at a popular Sunshine Coast beach.

Paul Marshallsea, from Merthyr Tydfil in Wales, was enjoying a barbecue with his wife Wendy, 56, and daughter Rachel, 21, at Bulcock Beach, Caloundra, on Saturday afternoon when he heard cries of "Shark!".

Lifesavers on jet skis eventually managed to lead the shark into the protected waters of a nearby creek, hoping the animal would return to the ocean on the outgoing tide.

Dusky whalers, which belong to the same whaler family as the bull shark, grow up to four metres long and are known to be dangerous to humans. Their slender bodies feature pale stripes on the flanks and dusky tips on the fins.

There are shark nets along 85 Queensland beaches at a cost of $2.3 million to the state government each year.

There has been only one shark fatality at these beaches since the netting program was rolled out.